Georgia GOP Candidate Holds Rapid-Fire 'Bump Stock' Giveaway Contest

A Republican state senator running for governor in Georgia is giving away a bump stock, the modification apparently used by the Las Vegas shooter.

A bump stock is shown next to a disassembled .22-caliber rifle at North Raleigh Guns in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2013.Allen Breed / AP file

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Oct. 17, 2017 / 2:38 PM GMT / Updated Oct. 17, 2017 / 2:42 PM GMT

By Alex Seitz-Wald

WASHINGTON — A Republican candidate for governor in Georgia is giving away a "bump stock," the rapid-fire gun modification linked to the Las Vegas shooting, in a campaign contest to highlight his opposition to new regulation on the devices.

State Sen. Michael Williams, who is positioning himself as the most pro-Donald Trump candidate in a crowded GOP field to succeed term-limited Gov. Nathan Deal, said the contest is a celebration of the Second Amendment.

"The tragedy in Las Vegas broke my heart, but any talk of banning or regulating bump stocks is merely cheap political lip service from career politicians," Williams said in a statement announcing the contest. "Georgia's gun owners deserve a governor who will stand with them when liberals and Hollywood elites attack our fundamental rights."

Gun giveaways have become fairly common stunts on conservative campaigns. Roy Moore's campaign gave out an AR-15 rifle the night before he won the GOP nomination in the Alabama Senate race last month.

But Williams may be the first to give away a bump stock, an extremely controversial device that the National Rifle Association and some Republican leaders have said should be regulated more stringently.

Bump stocks modify semi-automatic weapons to make them fire like machine guns, which are generally banned, and may have contributed to the high death toll in Las Vegas.

Legislation to ban bump stocks is still pending in Congress, though many Republican leaders have said they would prefer the ATF to regulate them instead.